Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-02-21
a TerribIe Catastrophe Recalled.

One night recently Dennis Mack, engi-
neer on a switch engine ID the yards Of the
Lsckawarna Iron and Coal Company in
Scranton, ran his engine into the engine
house. as hs was TO 60 Oh duty again at
o'clock the next morning be lay down in
the cab OF his engine to sleep until that time.
Just before o'clock uorllmen in the yard
were startled by great crash 1T the engine
house, which is frame building. Looking
in the direction Of the house they saw one
side of it give way and Mack's engine come
tearing out OF the breach. The engine ran
short distance over the ground and then
toppied over down au emhankment twenty
feet high. It rolled over and over in the
descent, and was badly wrecked. The
workmen knew that Mack was on the en-
cine. and expected to inG him crushed 10
death in the debris. They found him fast
in tue wreck, aud although he was held so
that it took them some time to extricate
him, ne was found TO have received but
few slight injuries Mack could not explain
what caused the engine TO start, but it is
supposed that he started up in his sleep and
pulled the throttle open. This singular oc.
curreuce recalls the fact that one Of the most
terrible railroad disasters that ever occur
red in this country was caused by an engi-
neer starting his engine while he was asleep.
1t vas in July, 1869, on the Erie Railway,
at Mast Hope station, on the Delaware d.
vision. The track was then g single one on
that part cf the road. Conductor Jud
Brown had orders &c lie on the switch at
Mast Hope until fast cypress Train No. 8,
west bound, passed. James Griffin was the
engineer Of the freight train. As the
express train approached The station
at midnight, running thirty-fve miles an
hour, Conductor Brown was horrliled to see
h;s train pulling out oD the main track.
Griffin g engine reached the main track di-
rectly in 'front.' of the express. and terrific
collision was the result. The cars on the
express train were piled on top of ono ana
other and caught FIRE. Many passengers
we're killed outright. & dozen others were
held in the wreck and burned alive. The
depot caught fire and was destroyed. Grif-
fin discovered the situation in time 10 jump
from his engine. He fed, but afterWard
surrendered himself and was iodged il the
Pike county jail. He WAS tried f0r man
slaughter in September. 1869. lie was de
Tended by the late Chief Justice George w.
Woodward. Il was proved Oh TIE Trial that
he had been on duty tweply-iour hours
without sleep, and tho polut made by the
defence was that while waiting On the
switch he was overcome by the strain and
fell asleep. he was partially awakened by
the approaching train, ana pulled open the
throttle of his engine before he knew what
he was doing. i sympathetic jury acquit.
ted him, against the charge fudge Barrett
to convict, and were publicly censured By
the court. The disaster made the name of
Mast Hope so notorious ali over the country
that the railroad company changed the
name Of the station to Pine Grove. which it
retained until few weeks ago, when it was
changed back to Mast Hope. The remains
of several of the victims OF the catastrophe
were never identified. The disaster cost
the company 100000.